The existence of life on other worlds has always tickled the imagination of both scientists and the public. At the beginning of last century War of the Worlds radio broadcast in which Martians invade the Earth made literally lifted the U.S. leg. But it seems to be the story of "Martians" could go in another direction. In the April issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology published a paper indicating the danger of interplanetary invasion of living organisms, but in the Earth-Moon or Earth-Mars!
Committee for the celebration on Mars
Studies conducted in laboratory conditions as prevailing on Mars clearly shows that for certain types of germs and bacteria from Earth could live on Mars. No one in the scientific community has no intention of settling Mars the Earth organisms. But so far Astronautic mission and especially those that are planned for the near and further future in its components have the big goal, the search and retrieval of (possible) life on Mars.
The only question is whether life no matter what form the robots that are found on the red planet will be the source of origin from Mars or Earth?
Specifically, during the preparation and sending robotic devices to Mars (and other worlds), they all undergo several stages of decontamination (remember the pictures in which engineers are trained in white jumpsuits with masks over their faces and caps on their heads, just like doctors in the operating theaters) to be sterilized spacecraft. It is known that such sterilization is almost entirely complete. The key word is "almost" because some organisms still survive. At one time in NASA during the Apollo missions created general panic when the astronauts of the previously sent robotic spacecraft and removed after a year returned to Earth. The analysis revealed the existence of colonies of microorganisms. Very soon found their earthly rather than lunar origin. However, on Mars over the years that the situation could be much more dangerous. If microbes are there due to the Earth as a kind of blind passengers together with robots, mutation and adaptation to the environment some of them could overwhelm Mars. On Earth, benign organisms on Mars can be turned into a real "Alien" that can potentially destroy the original Martian life!
-
- Work on the aircraft for other worlds takes place under sterile conditions
In this sense, some of microbiologists and propose practical research with a controlled population of some typical microorganisms that could be brought back to the Mars mission is strictly controlled during the coming years. Its goal would be to see whether organisms from Earth survive on Mars for many months and years, and it will be with them in the meantime. Although this is a very risky mission that if something goes wrong, can contaminate Mars, it is considered that it would finally give an answer to the question. Have you ever been contaminated planet that is most similar to Earth, and, ultimately, how to distinguish between the original and infiltration life when he finds there.
It is important to know whether or not Mars is alive. For several decades ago when they step on its soil contamination of the first people of Mars will be inevitable. By this time we need to know who is or is not on Mars and how to preserve the local ecosystem and the life no matter how he looked. According to a rule which we have brought ourselves as a technical civilization - the man has no right to contaminate other worlds. Although it is already now certain that we do this in at least a dozen cases.
War, Peace and light is already running, but the role of "alien" (or rather "izvanmarsovaca") are not space aliens already being ground.
Marino Tumpić